Heart Preparation

Monday was panic buying of essential craft materials for the after-school club on Tuesday. We started out by heading for Homesense on the edge of Worcester. Upon arriving we were a tad nonplussed to find a furniture store where we expected Home Sense to be. Had it closed or moved? We checked the postcode, but it was correct. We looked around for a familiar landmark and recognised the wacky blue metal fence adjacent to the shop. Then we realised that we were in the wrong part of the retail park, and the fencing was familiar as we made exactly the same mistake last time. Doh! Whoever said you live and learn has not been shopping with me!

In the next section of the retail park, we successful located Home Sense, which is TK Maxx without the clothing, and with greater emphasis on everything for the home - odd items of furniture, bizarre garden ornaments, seasonal decorations, tableware and cookware.  My purchases included three rolls of wrapping paper, two items to wrap for G3 (aged 8) who is soon to be 9 and a set of cheap icing tools to add interest to the clay heart decorating activity scheduled for tomorrow afternoon.

David and Goliath

For some time we have been searching for replacement peg hangers, as our current ones are getting old and brittle, and have been repaired many times.

Our household has a system whereby the socks (and other similar items) are hung on a peg hanger and either go outside to dry naturally, or in the spare room, to be dried by the dehumidifier. The peg hanger, complete with items, is then transferred to the airing cupboard. When dry, items are returned to their owners, to be put away until they are worn, and put in the wash again...

Unfortunately, all the peg hangers we have seen on sale are far too big. We need ones that will fit in the airing cupboard.

Today, I cracked. After months of sporadic, but unsuccessful searching, I admitted defeat and bought a large sock hanger for the princely sum of £2 - working on the theory that as soon as you buy something, you usually see something better!  On the left is the small sock hanger we are looking to replace, on top of the one I bought. As you can see, there is a significant difference in size!

Other essential purchases included garden twine, to replace that which was all used up the previous week, plus an extra reel.
"Did you realise that your garden twine are not the same? You have one that is 75 metres and one that is 100 metres, but the 75 metres is thicker twine. Do you want to change one?"
The stock is the other end of the shop and they only cost £1.50 each. Am I going to notice the difference in either length or thickness? Nope.
"It will be fine." I reassure the assistant.

After a successful trial...

We move on to Dunelm, where my purchases were very boring - superdry tea towels, for use in the caravan, and a new spud masher for DH.














By now it is lunchtime, and so we head into the city in search of sustenance. Feeling radical, we decide to try a carpark at the other end of the main shopping centre, and discovered that it was quite a bit cheaper! We also found a very pleasant cafe, which we had not visited before and which did the best baked potato in town. Another review for trip advisor pending...

We popped into TK Maxx, just on the off chance they may have a peg hanger with more diminutive dimensions, and noted with great joy that spring had arrived in the saucepan department...I think I need yellow saucepans to brighten up my life... Hang on, I might have to do more cooking. Scratch that!
I wonder what colour you would chose?













Wilko supplied the cheap plasters required for the prayer station at £1 a pack. Testing them later, I discovered that biro was the writing implement of choice. Both felt tips and foam marker pens smudge, as they do not dry, because the plasters are waterproof... Always a good idea to try things out...










Time for a quick wander along by the river, but we didn't do our usual walk down as far as the footbridge.







Home, and into action preparing cutouts for the 'stained glass' (tissue paper) windows. Each one requires a front and back - seventeen children, so that is 34 to cut out...
The KHT examines my work quizzically
"Is that a pair of lungs or a cross?"
"What else can you see?
"A heart and a cross!"
"Right answer!"
In case you are wondering the theme for this week is Forgiveness.


An early tea is followed by two meetings either side of town. Firstly, the local community meeting, where local organisations come together to plan community events, followed by another meeting the other side of town, taking minutes. On the bright side, at least it didn't tie up two evenings! Back home to complete prep for the afterschool club. Maybe tomorrow will be a quieter day, but somehow I doubt it!







Update on the snow creation front - the shepherd is dissolving nicely and now looks rather sheepish...